My first act this year was to upgrade my Nokia N95's firmware. Words has it that the new firmware v.20 is much faster and less power consuming that the v.12 firmware. Nokia released it some time ago and now only I found time to update it. Nokia introduced On Demand Paging which is a more efficient way of loading data into RAM. In other words, it uses less RAM memory therefore it is faster in a way. I felt that after upgrading.

This is the comment made in the Nokia web

"This software version includes battery, stability & performance improvements enabling you to run faster and longer - giving you up to three more hours of music (up to 30% increase, from 9h to 12h of music playback). This release also includes a new version of Nokia Maps which provides faster positioning, faster Map Loader, and free 3-day navigation. Free N-Gage demo games are included and other games are available via Download! With the Nokia Music Store now live in the United Kingdom, users can enjoy the convenience of instant over-the-air downloads, regardless of where they are."

Those higlighted stuff was made me eager to upgrade...

Simple instructions however has to be done to ensure your phone is in good condition after the upgrade:

1. Make sure you BACKUP all your phone data to avoid losing contact number or important appointments in your calendar. Go to Menu>Tools>Memory>Back up Phone Memory
2. Download the Nokia Software Update and install.
3. Follow the instructions soon after installation (Remember not to remove your USB cable otherwise you will damage your phone)
4. If somewhere in the process it says update fail, please disconnect your phone from the PC and perform phone reset by pressing *#7370# for soft reset or *#7780# for hard reset. Press 12345 when promted for Lock Code (default unless you already changed it) . Don't worry about loosing all your data, you already perform backup procedure in Step 1. The update should perform normally after the phone reset process. (because this happened to me...hehehe)
5. After updating your device software to 20.0.015, and restoring your personal data (repeat Step 1, except choose restore phone memory this time), you can optimise the menu layout by installing the New_Menu_Structure.SIS file. Download and install this file to rearrange your menu layout specifically for SW 20.0.015. Reboot your device to see the menu changes.
6. You can also choose to upgrade your Nokia Map. After the upgrading process, it seems that I've also upgraded my n95 to A-GPS (Assisted - Global Positioning System).

Results:

I can feel the difference right after the upgrade and all I can say my n95 runs faster now with much more organized interface. The battery even lasts longer than before and that what matters... hiks :)

Graphics taken from N95 Best Tips and Tricks

I even had time to upgrade my Mom's n70 firmware as well. It seems that now the 1 gig memory is more compatible than before. The music can be accessed using the default player without any fuss. Hiks...


p.s: How many out there who owns expensive gadgets but don't know how to utilize it to the fullest.